


Fireproof

by writingontheclouds



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Marauders (Harry Potter), Anxiety Disorder, Declarations Of Love, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Heartbreak, Love Confessions, Love/Hate, Marauders Friendship, Marauders' Era, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 21:52:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8225912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingontheclouds/pseuds/writingontheclouds
Summary: This is based on hmionegrangr's #jilychallenge prompt - "Was that song written about me? I think it was written about me (band or musician au)". 
Blame Fresher's week for this unedited fic that I might have taken a bit too far. I'm just to tired to read it all over again and edit it. Also this is a tad bit late, but oh well. 
Enjoy and review! :)





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on hmionegrangr's #jilychallenge prompt - "Was that song written about me? I think it was written about me (band or musician au)". 
> 
> Blame Fresher's week for this unedited fic that I might have taken a bit too far. I'm just to tired to read it all over again and edit it. Also this is a tad bit late, but oh well. 
> 
> Enjoy and review! :)

James had no semblance of time or day, or month for that matter, but the only thing he could think of was that he was never drinking again. He was awake, wide awake of the fact that it was the next morning, and last night was over. But getting out of bed seemed too much of a work, so he just lay there basking in his hangover misery. The pillow smelled of alcohol, of scotch and whiskey, and his breath stank. 

A shiver ran throughout his body, and he groaned, trying with all his might to find the darn duvet so he could get cozy again. But there was none.

That's when he realized that in his drunken stupor, he had crashed on his floor instead of his bed. His bedside clock said it was close to 12 in the afternoon, so he just got up, grabbed the pillow on the floor and fell into his bed. It felt like an expanse of fluffy marshmallows after his night on the cold hardwood floor.

His pounding head was no help, but after a few minutes, he was finally at the edge of sleep again when his bedroom door burst open with a loud bang and James cursed and sat up so quickly from his bed that his head felt like it was hit by a hammer. There were a few spots in his vision, they faded gradually and he blinked to clear out and focus on the black blurred offender who entered his room in the _wee_ hours of the morning (according to James anyway).

"Sirius _sodding_ Black," James growled, staring at the very familiar blob of his best friend. He rummaged around his nightstand and found his glasses and put them on only to find a very troubled looking Sirius, and that immediately gave James goosebumps.

"Get your ass out of bed," There was a certain hurriedness in his voice that James couldn't place. He frowned as Sirius poured him a tall glass of water and added two tablets of Aspirin in it. They dissolved with a sizzle.

"10 minutes," Sirius ordered, as James took the glass and gulped down the water in one go.

"Sirius?" James asked, his voice hoarse, as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. There was dread bubbling up in his chest that he absolutely did not like. 

"Lily is back," was all Sirius said before shutting the bedroom door behind him, and those 3 words were more than enough to make James jump out of his bed and rush into the toilet with a new found urgency.

 

...

 

James' one minute shower hadn't done much, except for making him colder than he was before. Dressing hurriedly in the first thing he could find, his hair way messier than it usually was, he flew around his flat to meet Sirius waiting impatiently by the front door within 7 minutes on the dot. Despite the circumstances, James was pretty proud of his skill to get ready in less time than one takes to get themselves out of bed and into the shower. 

The pair quickly found James' black Range Rover in the parking, and within minutes, they were on the road, amidst the Los Angeles traffic. It was a particularly sunny day in the city, but there were clouds looming in the horizon.

Sirius tuned into a radio station as he maneuvered around expertly in the heavy traffic.

"What do you mean she is back? How do.. how do you know that?" James asked, nervousness dripping from every word.

"Remus. Apparently she is doing a radio interview in.." Sirius glanced at the time on his phone, "about 5 minutes." He completed, tossing his elegant black hair out of his eyes. 

James shut his eyes, and rubbed at them, clearly still not fully awake to process news as big as that. He was tired, his entire body was sore from having slept on the floor and his eyelids were threatening to drop any second. He just wanted to curl up into the comfy seat, take a long nap and deal with all this later. 

"Is she really.." James tried. ".. _back_ ?" The news hadn't sunk in yet. Clearly.

"I don't know, James." Sirius said, and sighed. "But we'll know soon enough, yeah."

A couple advertisements later, the bouncy voice of Brenda Simmons boomed through the speakers of the car and James promptly turned the volume a few notches up. 

"Good afternoon, everybody!" Brenda shrieked with enthusiasm, "Welcome back to your daily afternoon show at The Underground, this is Brenda Simmons here with Jon Crawford. It's 12:30 in the afternoon, and it's a gorgeous day today in Los Angeles."

"Don't be fooled by the blazing sun though, it _may_ rain in the evening, so we urge everyone to make the most of the sunshine while it lasts." Jon said with equal zeal. "So, today folks, we have a very special guest in our studio tonight.." 

"But, but, but before _that_ .." Brenda interrupted then paused for a dramatic effect and James groaned, familiar with the blonde's ways of stalling, "We have yesterday's Guess The Artist result, and we have a winner. Congratulations to Emily Spencer, you have won a gift card for a year's worth supply of chocolate chip biscuits from Cups and Cakes Bakery! Congratulations, Emily!"

"That is _very_ unhealthy, Brenda, we ought to think of other ways to get people to tweet and stay significant in this industry."

"What are you on about? I'd wade through a swamp filled with crocodiles to get a year's supply of cookies."

Jon chuckled. "Then maybe we should add free dental appointments along with that offer because Lord knows, you'll need it after that. Maybe even a diabetes health plan or something."

"Way too ruin cookies for everyone, Jon."

"Okay, now, let's not waste anymore time." Jon said and James instantly perked up and stared at the radio in the car, as if Lily was going to pop out of the contraption in his car any second.

"Winner of several awards, two of which are the all too prestigious Grammy, the girl who _singlehandedly_ stole all our hearts with her second single titled 'Heart strings', and I'm _so_ relieved to finally say this, we have the ever lovely Lily Evans with us today! Yes, _in the flesh_ , fellas, she's sitting right in front of me and I even _poked_ her in the arm to check if she was really there."

James released a huge breath, his eyes wide as a football.

There was a light laugh in the background, a laugh all too familiar, a laugh that made James' mouth instantly dry up and his heart to go into cardiac arrest.

"Hi!" Lily's chirpy voice echoed in the car, and James turned to look at Sirius, who was looking at him too, shock coloring their faces. Lily was back and they didn't have the faintest idea, until now.

"Welcome back, girl! How're you doing?" Brenda asked.

"I'm good." Hearing Lily's voice again made James' stomach do back flips and somersaults. It had been _so_ long.

"Wonderful! You got us all _so_ worried here, if I may speak for your loving fans."

_Worried? WORRIED?_ James internal monologue was on the warpath, causing his headache to worsen. He couldn't comprehend the situation very well, and being hungover wasn't helping either. _Worried is not the word I'd use, Brenda. Worried comes nowhere near to what I've been feeling._

"Umm.." Lily paused. "Yeah, I'm sorry for that. I just.." She paused again.

"Needed a breather?" Brenda finished for Lily.

"Yes, exactly that."

James gulped at the confession, knowing full well why she needed a breather. 

"I hope you're doing much better now." Jon said lovingly.

"Oh yes, I am, thanks."

"So, I am going to pop the million dollar question, a question your fans and friends are dying to hear the response to. Are.. you back?" Jon asked. 

Lily chuckled. "Yes, I'm back. I may take some time off, but I'll always come back, as long as you'll have me."

"Ofcourse, darling! We thought we'd never hear Lily Evan's beautiful voice again, and honestly, what kind of a world would that be?"

Lily laughed, this time quite loudly. "No, no, you'll always find me tripping over my own feet, botching up my outfits on stage and generally making a complete fool out of myself." That made James chuckle, despite everything. He could vividly remember the one time, when Lily had to run backstage in the middle of a song because she'd somehow gotten herself tangled in her _own_ costume. God only knows how she managed to do that. The boys never let her hear the end of it.

"Ah, clumsy as ever?"

"Probably more, if I dare say. I broke a couple of antique vases at home, Mum was certainly not pleased."

"We should make sure you're wrapped up nice and good in bubble wrap, you know, to avoid any future mis happenings."

"That wouldn't work, honestly, because then I'd be too distracted bursting the bubbles to remember to sing."

"Well, I don't know about you, Brenda, but I'd pay good money to see Lily Evans on stage playing with some bubble wrap. The fans would positively faint."

Brenda chuckled. "Yes, 2 front row tickets for us, please, and we are completely serious about this."

"I'd probably somehow find a way to hurt myself nonetheless."

All of them shared a light laugh. 

"So, coming back, how was your break? There were so many rumors, so many stories flying around, it was hard to believe any. There was one though, that caught my interest. It said that you were abducted by aliens and were asked to sing for them." Jon asked. James looked out the window. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear this now. 

"Yes, very hospitable creatures, they are. They send their regards." She paused when Brenda cracked up. "No, I just went back to England, to my parents' place, for a bit."

"But 4 months, not a single peep from you _or_ your team. No tweet, no instagram, no facebook. Nothing. Nada. It's like you vanished into thin air. Like magic!"

"Yeah, I just wanted to lay low for a while. And my parents' place was the perfect place for that. It's a small town."

"So, how does it feel to be back?"

"Truthfully, it's a little nerve wracking. I've been away for so long, I'm not sure what to expect now."

"Yeah, but you'll catch up, won't you?"

"Hopefully."

"So, what is your plan now? Are you working on something, can we hope for something in the near future?"

"Oh yes, definitely. I was writing while I was away, and I'm so excited for everyone to hear it. It's my best work so far, in my opinion."

"Wow. I'd recommend everyone to start stocking up tissues because Lily Evans will be back with an passionate album soon, because we all know we'll be balling our eyes out. So how soon are we talking about here? Late this year, or next year?"

"There's still some work left to do, but I'm hoping by the end of this year."

"My Christmas gift is sorted right there, to all those who need ideas." Jon said.

"Well, I guess Christmas came a little early this year because I've kinda got a surprise."

"Uhh..?" Jon was speechless. _Lily Evans had that effect on people_ , James mussed.

"Please be a single, please be a single, please be a single." Brenda whisper chanted in the background.

"Well, you're in luck there because I'm granting wishes today. My new single is up and ready to be released."

"OH."

"OH."

"Today."

There was a brief silence and James was shocked. So was Sirius, guessing from his mouth hanging open.

"This is called being back with a bang, ladies and gents. Everyone, please grab a companion to hold on and cry into." Jon declared as soon as he recovered.

"Okay this is _some_ news, Lily. I have the single in my hand right now and we're going to play it for you in just a few moments. But before that, Lily, would you like to give some background to the song? Introduce it?" Brenda sounded absolutely ecstatic.

"Oh yeah. This is my first single off my new album and it's called 'Nursing Broken Hearts'. I guess, the title says it all. I wrote this song sitting in my bedroom, while it was raining and it reminded me of someone, and this song just came pouring out of me. It's about heartbreak.. it's.. it's about when someone who means a lot to you lets you down, it's about people who have hurt you when you loved them unconditionally, it's about being helpless because they would have been the first person you'd run to in a situation like this, and.. yeah." She paused, taking a huge breath. "It's very personal, the _whole_ album is very personal to me, and I just hope you like it. I put my heart and soul into it."

"You bet we will, Lily Evans, you bet we will."

"Looks like this person meant a lot to you."

"Yes, he-" Lily stopped abruptly, probably realizing she shouldn't have said that.

"A he, huh? So it's a boy." Brenda teased, having caught her slip.

"Yeah." Lily sighed, defeated.

"So here we have, Nursing Broken Hearts, ready to air for the first time. It will be available on Itunes for download, so go ahead, folks. But before we play the song and drown in our own tears, we will remind you again that we will be taking calls soon, so ring us up, fellas! We look forward to hear from you!"

The song started out with a faint piano melody. It was a very slow song, and James felt goosebumps as soon as Lily started to sing. Her voice was honeyed and soft, the kind that touches your soul, the kind that makes you want to cry even though you've never been through any kind of heartbreak. Critics described her voice as _impassioned_ , and James felt there was no better way to describe Lily Evans.

James drowned in the song, letting her voice overpower him. He didn't really bother listening to the lyrics, but when Sirius looked at him with a curious expression, he frowned and heard them at last.

**_We shone so bright baby,_  
your hazel eyes locked onto mine  
I thought we were fireproof  
but we faded, we lost  
and this love was left unknown  
you let me walk away  
nursing a broken heart alone. **

_Was this..?_

_No, it couldn't be possible._

James initially thought the song could be about a black haired guy in Lily's life, someone he didn't think too highly of. Well, to say the truth, someone he despised with every fiber of his being. And it would make sense for Lily to be heartbroken after what happened with him that night.

Now, James doesn't go around observing the git, he generally maintained a safe distance from him.

But, James knew, Snape sure as hell did not have _hazel_ eyes.

And that line. That line is awfully familiar. James was sure he had heard this line before. He frowned, concentrating on where... and when.. and how..

Before he could remember, the song ended and Brenda's voice brought him back from his mind.

"Oh my god, Jon are you okay?"

"I will need to be excused for a minute."

"Wow, that is a beautiful song, I just.. it's very powerful. Did you mention that it happened to you? Someone broke your heart?"

"Ummm.." Lily trailed, unsure. "Yeah." She finally admitted.

"I have a wild guess about who this song is about."

"You do?" Lily asked, trepidation clear in her voice.

"I have a hunch."

"Shhh." Lily shushed and giggled.

"So, have you heard from your friends, The Marauders?"

"No, I haven't been in contact with anyone from the industry, really."

"There were _a lot_ speculations about what happened that night, you know. Nothing confirmed, ofcourse. Can you, maybe, shed a little light on it?"

James' heart skipped a beat. He had personally made sure the real story never came out. His PR team had handled the matter expertly, cooking up a new story for the media. _Don't lie_ , he had pressed, _just leave out the finer details_. The papers and magazines ran the story for a whole month, then finally got bored of it, and James was so relieved they let the incident be instead of digging up things.

But what if Lily told the truth? 

Even Sirius looked scared.

"Umm.." Lily stammered. "It was just a crazy night, to be honest."

"We knew The Marauders were the guest singers for the closing show of your American tour, and some fans claimed they heard shouting and screaming from the backstage. And it was unclear why you didn't perform the encore." 

"Yeah, well things just.. went to shit. I was just not in the right state of mind to come back on stage."

"Hmm," Brenda hummed, but continued with her interrogation. "Well, we also knew your best friend, Severus Snape was on tour with you as your guest at that time and it's evident enough _he_ doesn't get along with The Marauders, especially one bespectacled black haired one."

James shook his head, irritated at the blonde's persistence in prodding. Now she had to go get _him_ involved. 

"Uhh yeah, they have their differences."

"So, I'm guessing this song is about either of them."

_Clever, Brenda, very clever_ , James thought sarcastically.

"I'm neither confirming nor denying that. The story behind it is mine to keep." 

"Oh that's okay, we understand."

James sighed, relieved this topic is over and no damage was done.

"But Lily, you and James Potter were quite close, weren't you? You both were spotted on several occasions together, in restaurants, in bars, shopping, at gyms. Seemed like you both got along really well."

Sirius was wildly amused by this point, he failed to see his looming death at the hands of Amber, his PR agent, if she had to go about cleaning the mess _again._ His eyebrows were arched, almost invisible under his black fringe and he was smirking. The bastard was _smirking_. James wanted to shove him out of moving the car.

"Yeah, we have had some good times together."

"And you _have_ green eyes, correct?"

_OH NO._

Half an hour into the damn day and everything had already went to shit. 

Alarms went up in James' head, and he groaned so loudly that Sirius laughed. This is so not how he wanted this to go. This was so not the way. 

"Yes. Not sure why this is relevant though."

"It is. There has been an unconfirmed buzz that The Marauders latest single is about you."

Head buried in his hands, then running up to his hair, James pulled at the strands and groaned at nothing in particular.

"What?"

"Yes, it is quite evident, to be honest."

"How.. how can you say that?"

"Well, _one_ that _James Potter_ wrote the entire song on his _own_. The boys usually write together, all of them, and _this_ particular song is only written by him."

"James has written many songs on his own." Lily countered.

"You haven't heard the song, have you?"

"No, I didn't even know they released one." _She didn't?_

"Well, _second_ is that the song is titled 'Somebody With Green Eyes'"

"...and you think he's referring to mine? I'm sure I'm not the only one with them."

"But the fans are convinced it's about _you_. Usually the band's fans are very protective of their boys, but I think they see the chemistry between you two. Both on and off stage."

"We're just... good friends." 

And just like that, James' heart broke again. _This day can't get any worse_ , James thought and rubbed at his temples, trying to calm himself down.

"Alright, we'll play the song for you now, maybe you'll be convinced too."

James said that way too early. Clearly the stars, the gods and the universe were not in his favor.

"Here, we have 'Somebody With Green Eyes' by The Marauders and then after the break, we'll be taking calls. So, pick up your phones and give us a ring!"

The starting tune of the song, his song, played in the car and James lowered the volume, not wanting to listen to his own voice. 

They were still stuck in traffic, going God knows where, but James was tired. After a month of unanswered texts and calls and emails, James had given up. He knew Lily was a stubborn person, but he didn't know she could be that _stubborn_. 

So, James ended up penning the song while he was sitting alone in the balcony of his apartment, in the little chair swing that Lily had gotten him for his birthday last year.

It was a one seater, hardly fitting James' giant frame in it. But somewhere somehow, they both had managed to tuck themselves in it. Legs tangled, her head on his chest and their arms around each other, they'd spent countless nights like that, overlooking the city below. It was severely uncomfortable, sitting that way, but they both loved that balcony and that little swing and drinking together.

He was in love with her, with her fiery red hair and her emerald eyes. So that's what he wrote about.

Sirius found him the next morning, passed out in the chair, clutching a piece of paper to his chest. He found it so raw and vulnerable, that before James knew it, he was in the studio recording the vocals.

His own faint voice was crooning in the background, and he suddenly felt so empty inside. 

**_I tried warning this heart of mine  
but it fell so hard and fast for  
that somebody with green eyes. _**

"We are back, and you just heard 'That Somebody With Green Eyes' by The Marauders. My God, Jon, I must say, I fall in love with this song every time I listen to it." 

"I'll agree, Brenda, these boys have come so far," Jon agreed, "So, Lily, what do you think of the song?"

"It's beautiful. The green eyed girl must be very lucky."

"It's you, Lily," James whispered, closing his eyes, willing his voice to reach her. Somehow. "It's always been you."

Sirius turned to look at James, having heard what he just muttered, closed his eyes and exhaled rather violently.

"Okay, let's take up some questions from twitter, shall we, since #LilyEvansonUnderground is trending on number 1!"

"Yes absolutely!"

"Okay, lizzyonfire from Twitter says," Jon pauses then changes his voice to imitate a teenage girl, "OHMYGOD LILY EVANS IS BACK WE'RE BLESSED WITH A SINGLE OUR DOOM IS INEVITABLE"

Lily laughed.

"That isn't a question, but was worth mentioning. Okay next up, onaridetothemoon says," Jon said. "LILY YOU CANNOT JUST POP UP LIKE THAT WITH A SINGLE THAT BEAUTIFUL TO GIVE US A HEART ATTACK, YOU'D HAVE NO FANS LEFT THIS WAY!"

"Sorry!" Lily said, timidly.

"So, according to the tweets, most of your fans are crying a river, some of them are in an incoherent phase, and the rest are just angry you left without a word." Brenda stated.

"This is an interesting one." Jon said. "Did anyone hear her singing about hazel eyes or is it just me?" 

"Another one. James Potter sings about green eyes, Lily Evans writes about hazel eyes. Oh my god just kiss already, will you two?"

"That is a rather _interesting_ observation."

"Or an interesting _coincidence_." Lily countered which made Sirius bang his head on the steering wheel, groaning. He then whipped out his phone.

"Whatever you say, Lily."

"Alright, time to take some calls from your fantastic fans who would love to speak to you."

"So, our first caller."

"Hello?"

"Hello? Can you hear us?"

Sirius tapped on James' shoulder, and he realized, that he was holding out his phone. James raised his brows, in confusion, but Sirius just nodded to his phone.

"Hello?" James' voice echoed through the extra bass speakers of his Rover and he realized what Sirius had done.

"Hello, what is your name?"

"Jam-" James began but stopped. "Jam?" He tried, trying to pull off his evident mistake. Sirius turned to look at him, his face scrunched up in amusement. He shook his head, as if saying _Really? JAM?_

"Okay, Jam, what's your question for Lily?"

"Uhh" James was blank. He couldn't come up with anything more than uhh.

"Would you forgive him?" He asked at last, and winced. 

Silence. Pin drop silence. James understood Lily knew it was him.

"I don't know."

"Lily, can you forgive me?" He tried, this time. _Sod everything_ , he had finally got a chance to speak to her.

"It's not that simple."

"I know, but it can be if you want it to."

"You can't undo what's been done."

"I'm not, I'm just trying to make amends."

"A tad bit late for that, don't you think?"

"Well, _you_ were the one who didn't respond to my calls or texts.."

Lily sighed impatiently. "James, why'd do you call?"

"Because honestly this was the only way to get you talk to me."

"Did you think about the possibility that maybe I didn't wanna talk to you?" There was more tiredness in her voice than hostility. 

"It _might_ have crossed my mind.."

"I don't want to talk about it, James."

"You've got to let me explain. That wasn't me, Lily."

"I think I can make out what was you and what was not for myself, thanks."

"No, I didn't mean that. I just.. I never wanted that to happen."

"I thought so too, but you never know when people might surprise you."

"Lily please, just-"

"No, James-"

"Look, I _know_ I broke your heart. And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for what I did that night. I'm sorry you lost your best friend. But Lily, I'm not sorry I punched him."

"Who said you broke my _anything_?"

"I know my line when I hear it, Evans."

Silence. 

"You didn't think I'd remember it, yeah? It was the day you'd bought me that swing chair. Granted I was more than a little drunk when I said it, but I do." Silence again and James gathered his courage.

"We are fireproof, Lily. I promise you we are."

"Your promises mean jack shit to me, Potter. Especially after you broke the only one you made me."

"Lily-"

"Goodbye, James." The line went dead. James exhaled angrily, unsure of how to explain everything to Lily. He rubbed at his eyes again.

"Do you realize everybody heard that?" Sirius asked, concerned.

His phone already had 3 missed calls from Amber when James ignored another one.

"Amber's gonna beat me with my own guitar, but I can't bring myself to care right now. Take a right from here, I know just where to go."

 

...

 

There was sea of people at the entrance, and they were all singing at the top of their voice. 

James scanned the crowd quickly, spotting Dave, Lily's bodyguard at the door in his usual black attire. He looked at Sirius and Remus standing beside them, who gave him a nod each.

He tried to worm his way through the now screaming crowd. James had to cover his ears after one girl shouted shrilly right in his ear. He looked back, and saw Sirius and Remus trailing behind him, looking as uncomfortable as he was. As he moved further and further at his slow pace, he heard the people around him gasp and he knew he didn't have long before they started pulling at him. He heard the crowd go silent before someone shouted their names, giving their locations and the girls started to crowd around them, pulling and pushing. James saw the commotion was already spotted by Dave who was running towards them with more people behind him and at this moment, he jumped towards the barely visible railing. Dave promptly caught him from landing face first into the concrete and pulled him out of the crowd, Sirius and Remus following him almost immediately.

"What the fuck are you boys doing here?" Dave shouted, angrily while the other men tried to keep the crowd away from the band.

"I need to see Lily." James answered.

"I have special instructions not to let you near her."

"Dave, please, I need to apologize."

"No, I could get fired for this."

"Aww Dave, you know Lily loves you, she won't do that." Sirius scoffed.

"Please Dave, this might be my only chance." James pleaded.

Dave sighed, giving in. "Fine, but I tried to hold you off and _you_ ran away."

"Deal!" 

James sprinted the familiar length of the path to the studio of The Underground, a very famous radio channel based in Los Angeles. He had been here countless times, with the band for interviews, and it always the same- this lot was always filled with fans. There were shouts at him from the crowd as they acknowledged him, but James only saw one particular person standing in the far corner, surrounded by her fans and taking pictures with them. The girls all gasped, stunned, when they saw James approaching her, unsure of how to tell Lily, whose back was turned to him at the moment. 

Lily might have noticed people with shocked faces staring something behind her, because she turned. She froze when she saw James, out of breath, staring at her expectantly.

"Lily-"

"What are you doing here?" She screeched, tearing away from the crowd, towards James so that the fans wouldn't hear their exchange.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't see another way to apologize to you."

"I _don't_ want to hear it."

"Evans please-"

"No, James, this is enough-"

"Snape hasn't told you that we were all in the same school, has he?"

"Wha.. what?"

_Fucking finally_ , James thought. "We were."

"How does that even fit in here? So you knew each other in school, big deal!"

"It does, because his hatred for me started in school. Didn't you think it was suspicious that he has hated us for longest time, without an evident cause?"

Lily's face was blank. 

"Look, Snape and I have a history. We both did some shit to each other, I'm not proud of it, but we were just some hormone raged teenagers. I apologized to him before we graduated, but I guess he still holds a vendetta against me."

"That still doesn't explain anything, Potter."

"Well, back at school, Snape and I had a popular rivalry. It was kinda like I-will-make-your-life-miserable-and-I-will-smile about it types. We did some nasty shit to each other, you don't need to be acquainted with the details. We were childish, and we've moved past that, at least I have."

"But that day, the last day of the tour, I guess he still hasn't grown up, he tried to hurt Remus!" James continued, his blood boiling again at the memory.

"Remus?" Lily asked, confused.

"The boy has a history of a bad anxiety disorder, Lily. Remus was always out of bounds in our war, that was a given unsaid rule. It was always Sirius, Peter and me. We _personally_ made sure Remus never caught the wind of our fights. I'm sorry, but that day he tried to hurt him, and we found him having the worst panic attacks I've ever seen! And I won't tolerate that."

"Why don't I know that?"

"Because you refused to see any of us and left on the first flight you could get? Also Remus doesn't really like to broadcast this particular thing to the general population." James answered, indicating to the silent fans around them who were now quietly watching the conversation.

Lily licked her lips, and James positively adored it when she did that.

"Look, I know I promised I'd be on my best behavior around him, but I'm not sorry I punched him. The git deserved it."

"And, I'm sorry you lost your best friend that day, I know he was the only one you had left from your childhood, but James didn't make him say what he said to you after he punched him. That's on him." A voice came from behind James. Sirius and Remus were now standing right next to James, like the brothers they are.

"I.. didn't.. know that," Lily stuttered, looking guilty.

She looked up at Remus, who was smiling kindly down at her, and suddenly launched herself right into Remus' arms. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Remus I didn't know.." She chanted, as Remus hugged her.

"Hey shush. It's all good," He said, as he rubbed her back. She pulled back, looking regretful, but Remus gave her a giant smile and messed up her hair. 

"Good to have you back," He said, and she grinned.

She went to Sirius next, opening her mouth to apologize but Sirius just smirked and held his arms open. Lily giggled, and hugged him hard. He pulled back, and holding both her hands delicately and elegantly twirled her right into James. 

"I'm.. sorry." Lily said sheepishly, eyes trailed downwards. Her eyes were starting to pool with tears.

James just smiled, his eyes twinkling. "I'm just glad you're back."

"I didn't wanna lose you all, and I was just so hurt when Sev.. Severus said all those.. I'm sorry I blamed you for his mistake."

"It's okay."

James hooked a thumb underneath Lily's chin and pulled her face up. The tears had made its way on her cheek, and he wiped them away. She blushed, looking right into his eyes that James felt electricity zing up right in his bones. And that's the way he wanted to feel for the rest of his life, with Lily.

"So.." Lily started.

"So.." James repeated.

"You're in love," Lily stated.

"Uh huh," James agreed, nodding, "Happens to the best of us sometimes."

"With..?" She started, but couldn't continue. James shook his head and chuckled. Lily could be so thick sometimes.

James bent down till he reached her ears. He was so close he could smell her fruity perfume and his favorite scent, the smell of Lily's hair. It smelt absolutely divine to James.

"Somebody with green eyes," James whispered, and Lily visibly shivered. He smirked, enjoying the effect he was having on her. 

"You.. you were talking about my green eyes?" Lily asked, still unsure.

"Christ, Evans, you can be blind as a bat sometimes."

"I'll toss your glasses into the ocean then we'll see who is blind as a bat, James Potter."

" _Touche_ ," James said, holding up both his hands in defeat. 

One arm wormed around Lily's waist, the other hooked under her chin, James watched her as her eyes came alight with happiness. He gently bent down again, nudging his nose with hers, stalling and making Lily squirm. She must be impatient, because Lily's arms wound around his neck and pulled him down, pressing his lips to hers.

The couple were too oblivious to the hoots and screams of the crowd, Sirius whistling and Remus clapping.

The kiss was the first drink of alcohol after a freezing day.   
It was like the first ray of sunlight after a week of rain.   
It was like that first bite of food after starving for an entire day.   
It was like a Popsicle after a day in the blazing sun. 

And after that kiss, James realized that this is the start of forever.

At least that's the way he described it later because he wrote an entire song about that first kiss. And Lily shook her head at him, but buried her head in his neck in that swing chair that they love to tuck themselves in even though it's too small for both of them.


End file.
